Mayoral candidates in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan should address the concerns of millennials at forums ahead of the local elections in November, a coalition of college student unions said yesterday.
National Students’ Union of Taiwan president Huang Ting-wei (黃亭偉) said the coalition is planning a series of forums in the three cities, the publication of a youth policy white paper and to charter buses to take students to the districts where they are registered to vote on Nov. 26
Mayoral candidates are invited to join the events, which involve the efforts of nearly 20 colleges and universities in the three cities, he said, asking the candidates to respond to the invitation before the end of this month.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The youth policy white paper is to be created in collaboration with policy experts and would touch upon culture, democracy, freedom, human rights and economy, focusing on the three northern special municipalities, union managing director Chen Ssu-yu (陳思妤) said.
The document is expected to be published next month, she added.
Candidates in Taipei should lend their ears to students who are not registered to vote in the city, but study, live and work there, as city policy affects their livelihood, National Taiwan University Student Association president Sun Yu-chien (孫語謙) said.
None of the Taipei mayoral candidates have put forward a coherent program on youth policy or a vision for the future of the city, former National Chengchi University Student Association president Ke Chia-wei (柯嘉偉) said.
“Young people are not interested in political strife or spittle,” he said. “Candidates should leave their baggage behind and try to listen.”
Young people in New Taipei City want the city government to deal with infrastructure and housing issues that lie outside the scope of the New Taipei City Youth Development Office, National Taipei University Sanxia Campus Student Association president Lee Chih-yu (李芝玉) said.
Local governments must offer more than lip service to young people, and start treating them as partners in dialogue and voters deserving of respect, New Taipei City Youth Public Affairs Association president Hisao Jen-yu (蕭任祐) said.
Taoyuan has the youngest population of any locality in Taiwan and therefore carries a greater responsibility to involve young people in creating a vision for the city’s future, Yuan Ze University student association president Liu Yao-wei (劉曜維) said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS